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So the lawmakers here in capital city are careening, or carefully steering if you prefer, the government right off the budgetary cliff. Sometime after tonight, the much-feared and mostly expected government shut down will become a reality.

We’ve been here before, of course. Lots of times. But despite all the reams of newsprint and piles of pixel devoted to prognosticating, it’s still pretty difficult to say what a government shut down will mean, and to whom.

The director of the Congressional Budget Office told us mid-month that it really depends how long it lasts and how expansively the President interprets the necessary function loop hole that will allow some aspects of the government to continue, budget or no budget. We know, according to the White House, that the Obamacare roll out — and tomorrow’s launch of www.healthcare.gov — will go forward regardless.

And we know that most big contractors — like ones I took a look at this morning (see below) — will continue as before, at least for now, spending out the funds they’ve already been approved for. (It’ll get trickier, of course, for those companies that might be in the midst of negotiating new contracts and could see decisions delayed.)

The AP reports that many of the ways the government impacts us as citizens from day to day will continue — the mail, for instance, and healthcare for veterans. But many other services will be stopped — from parks to the Statue of Liberty to applications for new veteran health care treatment.

As for Wall Street, it has concerns, as do the global markets. Then again, just over the weekend we were told that investors were so dang tired of the regular brinksmanship in Washington that they were disinclined to get worked up about this time around.

Barron’s perspective seems to cut through some of the rhetoric and points out that a short-term shut down will have small impact on the markets. What will hurt, it suggests, would be a standoff over raising the debt ceiling.

Meanwhile, if you run a business that does business with the federal government — or one that simply relies on it for your operations — tell me what impact you think a shut down will have on your bottom line. If it depends on its duration, give us a sense of what your pinch point is — when will it start to hurt?

Based on state-by-state details released yesterday by the White House, Texas could suffer direct job cuts, reduced border security and military operations and less funding for clean air and water programs, education and law enforcement.

In addition, several nationwide spending cuts could hurt businesses in Texas this year, according to the White House data:

* Loans: Small business loan guarantees would be reduced by up to $900 million, stopping businesses from expanding and hiring.

* Oil and gas permits: Cuts to the Department of Interior and other federal agencies would slow the development of oil and gas on federal land and water and could delay the leasing of new federal land for development.

* Economic Development: The Economic Development Administration would face restrictions in its ability to leverage private investments and resources for projects, resulting in some 1,000 fewer jobs created.

* New drug approvals: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research would face delays in new drug approvals.

* Research grants and awards: The National Science Foundation would issue about 1,000 fewer research grants and awards, affecting about 12,000 scientists and researchers. The National Institutes of Health would be forced to make hundreds of fewer research awards, which typically support up to seven researchers.

* National parks: Many of the 398 national parks could close, shorten their hours or reduce their services, hurting small businesses that rely on visitors to those parks.